Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Sensory Integration: It's Not Just For Children, Renee Watling, Stefanie Bodison, Diana A. Henry, Heather Miller-Kuhaneck

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Sensory integration theory and intervention techniques were originally developed by A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR, beginning in the late 1960s. Her pioneering work integrated scientific information from neuroscience, psychology, occupational therapy, and human development in an effort to help explain the relationship among experience, brain development, and function. Ayres's theory of sensory integration provides a solid foundation for understanding the impact of sensation on occupational performance across the life span. Although much of the existing work related to sensory integration addresses occupational performance issues in children, some believe the theory and framework to be important across the life span. However, …

Functional Rehabilitation: Managing Low Back Pain Through Activities-Of-Daily-Living Education, Timothy E. Speicher, R. Daniel Martin, Robert M. Desimone

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

After trauma to the low back, a decrease in intervertebral joint stiffness can occur, which can lead to inability of the motor-control system to compensate for the tasks imposed on the tissues, resulting in spinal instability. Intervertebral joint stiffness can be thought of as a tightening of a corset around a spine segment, facilitated through coactivation of small and large spinal muscles. The motor-control system might be able to adapt initially with cocontractions of the intrinsic muscles, but an unbalanced demand between the small and large muscles can lead to muscle fatigue and poor task performance. The inability of the …

The Relationship Among Sensory Preferences, Play Preferences, Motivation, And Mastery In Guiding Children's Play: A Review Of The Literature, Part 2, Elissa Miller, Heather Miller-Kuhaneck

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Currently, the emphasis throughout health care is on providing evidence-based practice. Occupational therapy practitioners are involved in critical examination of the profession's assumptions and beliefs and are conducting research that supports its theoretical underpinnings. In many areas of practice, practitioners have created bodies of literature to support interventions; and in other areas, we rely on literature from fields outside of the profession. Pediatric occupational therapy is no exception. Although exciting research is currently under way, existing research from outside the profession supports many of our methods and beliefs. A review of the literature found evidence from both inside and outside …

Top 10 Positional-Release Therapy Techniques To Break The Chain Of Pain, Part 1, Timothy E. Speicher, David O. Draper

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Positional-Release Therapy (PRT) is a treatment technique that is gaining popularity. The purpose of this two-part column is to briefly explain the theory and application of PRT. Then, we will present our top 10 list of what we think are the most commonly treated tender points by athletic therapists, five in Part 1 and five in Part 2, along with general tips, patient self-treatments, and adjunctive techniques.

PRT, originally termed strain–counterstrain, is a therapeutic technique that uses tender points (TPs) and a position of comfort (POC) to resolve the associated dysfunction. Essentially, PRT is the opposite of stretching.

PRT is …

Top-10 Positional-Release Therapy Techniques To Break The Chain Of Pain: Part 2, Timothy E. Speicher, David O. Draper

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Positional-Release Therapy (PRT) is advocated as an effective indirect therapeutic treatment for acute, subacute, and chronic somatic dysfunction. Initial investigations have shown PRT to significantly reduce low back and hip pain and improve hip strength. The effects of PRT are thought to occur from placing a patient’s tissues in a position of comfort for an extended period of time.

Clinically, the practice of PRT and its therapeutic benefits have an established history. What is lacking is research into the neural and physiologic mechanisms of the process by which PRT alleviates somatic dysfunction. It can be tempting to view the technique …